Why photography?

[Frank Fremerey]

Scenes from Como!

I love my X100, the T-version. So much camera in such a beautiful, smal package!!!

[Frank Fremerey]

To me photography is a way to enjoy a moment more intense. I observe better when I have my camera with me.
By freezing the moment I can look back to it as many times as I want to.
Due to my deteriorating eyesight I see things in a photo that I can't see in reality.
When I travel, I try to travel as light as possible.
And it is fun to do!

intense? I do not know. But sure different! I "see" things in another mode of consciousness. The naked eye can only see a very small part of a scene at once, a camera can freeze a situation and I can later browse through the files and detect relations I simply could not percieve so fast

[pluton]

The motivation of the artist (or artist-technician as I consider myself at best) is to create something beautiful 'for the people', in other words, to share with others.
When I was a young teenager, I saw photographs in magazines, books and photography in movies that impressed me as being visually beautiful.  I wanted, and want now, to make that.

[Peter Connan]

Personally, I am a very lazy person. Having a camera and some image goals gives me some purpose when travelling.

If I don't have it, I tend to just laze around the house or camp, in which case I could basically have stayed at home.

[RobOK]

So, to answer your question, the subject of this thread :
Why photography ?
Photography because it allows you to shape and transmit your feelings, immortalize events and anything you liked/loved.
If you are talented enough, you can elevate/raise this hobby as an art.

I was revisiting this thread and Rosko’s phrase “shape and transmit your feelings” caught my eye. I do think that is important, to show emotion through images. Have viewers or yourself feel something when they look.

[RobOK]

Does anyone have thoughts about the year ahead in their personal photography? Goals? Things to learn? Things to explore?

I am a new owner of a Z6, so learning that system is important to me.

Developing a greater eye for composition is a focus. Slow down. Take a breath. Vision a shot in advance.

[Frank Fremerey]

Does anyone have thoughts about the year ahead in their personal photography? Goals? Things to learn? Things to explore?

My resolution is that I now feel very secure in my camera work and want to make more money with it on a regular basis. I am yet undecided if interior architecture or portraits or food shold be my focus. These fields are so different from a marketing perspective that making money from these needs decision making.

Frank-ly I love all three ... decide decisions ... gosh!!!

[RobOK]

My resolution is that I now feel very secure in my camera work and want to make more money with it on a regular basis. I am yet undecided if interior architecture or portraits or food shold be my focus. These fields are so different from a marketing perspective that making money from these needs decision making.

Frank-ly I love all three ... decide decisions ... gosh!!!

Wow, three very different genres! Good luck!

[Cyril]

I'm a hobbyist photographer. I love the process of creating images because it's liberating. When I'm working on a scene I feel great. I forget about everything else. I like sharing my images but I don't know many people into art. I enjoy looking at other people's work very much. I think I might create a thread for people to share the references of their favourite photo books! Finally, I like learning stuff, whether it's about technique, gear or creativity. And we're never done learning 

I'm glad I'm not a professional and don't have to care about what other people like. I admire people who've lived off photography but managed to do the work they wanted to do.

[Jack Dahlgren]

Does anyone have thoughts about the year ahead in their personal photography? Goals? Things to learn? Things to explore?

I am a new owner of a Z6, so learning that system is important to me.

Developing a greater eye for composition is a focus. Slow down. Take a breath. Vision a shot in advance.

I was asked to shoot some portraits and event photos last year. I feel like the interaction with human subjects is my weakness and is something I want to work on. I was encouraged by the results and reactions, but it is still something I don’t feel all that comfortable with.

I’d also like to explore video a bit more. The hard part there is time for editing. I can capture a nice image in a fraction of a second and get it adjusted on the computer in a few seconds usually, but editing video can take much longer. It also requires more intent. I’m quite happy wandering with a camera and discovering things (or not finding anything as sometimes happens), but video that is interesting to others requires some sort of narrative.

Hope to hear from others about what is inspiring and challenging for them in the new year!

[aerobat]

I bring my Fuji X100f to many places incl. travel and really appreciate it for being unobtrusive but good IQ.
If photography is the main focus then the DSLR is in my bag.
There have been times when my photography takes a backseat and other hobbies get more attention.
But the nice thing is I keep coming back to photography.

[Frank Fremerey]

Wow, three very different genres

(...)

These three are the ones I am really good at.

Marketing is more important if you want to make money than the picture making ability.

Companies approach me with picture wishes that are so stupid conceptwise that I tell them straight to their head: "Why should I take this picture for you that does not forward your cause at all?"

My company is called foto kon text meaning photography conception text and it is a B2B company. The concept is most important. I want to help other companies achieve their goals.

I have to decide:

builders and planners?
food producers and restaurant owners?

I will take portraits anyway, most possibly more editorial than advertizing...

[Cyril]

The motivation of the artist (or artist-technician as I consider myself at best) is to create something beautiful 'for the people', in other words, to share with others.
When I was a young teenager, I saw photographs in magazines, books and photography in movies that impressed me as being visually beautiful.  I wanted, and want now, to make that.

I like what you said. Times have changed since you were a teenager   Magazines are struggling to survive. Photographers aren't as rare or needed. Celebrities take pictures of themselves and don't need help to diffuse them. The video and photo formats mean everything and  they mean nothing. There's probably never been as many art galleries dedicated to photography. And at the same time, people don't stop to think about what they are looking at when they're on social media. It's just part of the constant influx of 'content'. A paradox?

And in the ocean of selfies, snapshots and aesthetically poor movies and video clips there is a mountain of incredible artists. I'll just give one example: Better Call Saul is a tv show produced by streaming giant Netflix. Both Netflix and tv shows didn't exist when photography spread as an art form. And its photography is incredible. It is a beautiful show. In a nutshell, we live in a very strange and inspiring age.

[Cyril]

These three are the ones I am really good at.

Marketing is more important if you want to make money than the picture making ability.

Companies approach me with picture wishes that are so stupid conceptwise that I tell them straight to their head: "Why should I take this picture for you that does not forward your cause at all?"

My company is called foto kon text meaning photography conception text and it is a B2B company. The concept is most important. I want to help other companies achieve their goals.

I have to decide:

builders and planners?
food producers and restaurant owners?

I will take portraits anyway, most possibly more editorial than advertizing...

Would you say most of these companies have a clear idea of the shots they want? Or do they leave you a lot of freedom most of the time?